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December 1, 2014

Southern-Style Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

A slow cooker macaroni and cheese recipe that turns out perfect every time!

Mama called me the week before Thanksgiving and said she wanted us to try a slow cooker mac & cheese recipe on Thanksgiving to free up some real estate in the oven.

I wasn’t overly thrilled at the thought because the one and only time I’d ever tried a recipe for it, it was a total flop. And you can’t go screwing around with something as important as macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving!

But I tend to do what my mama says. So I had to figure this thing out.

Southern-style baked macaroni and cheese uses eggs and sets up a little like a quiche. The edges get all golden brown and crusty and the center stays soft and melty. I figured as long as I used parboiled noodles and added more liquid, all I’d need to do was use my usual seasonings and things should work!

But it was Thanksgiving! I was still having some major reservations about trying something new on The Big Day but went with it anyway. And it was a total hit! It cooked up almost exactly like my traditional mac and cheese and tasted perfect!

I’ll be using this recipe a lot going forward! Especially in the summer when I don’t want to turn the oven on! Plus this will travel perfectly so it’ll be great for pot-lucks and tailgating. Woo-hoo! I’m so glad Mama made me suggested that I try it!

Add parboiled noodles, melted butter and 3/4 of the shredded cheese to the milk mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.

Spray the inside of a medium-large crock pot (approximately 4-qt size) with cooking spray then pour macaroni mixture into crock pot. Top with remaining cheese. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours or until set in the center and golden brown around the edges.

*Mama bought extra sharp cheddar which I don’t know that I’d necessarily recommend for this. The sharper the cheddar, the less creamy it is. I have a feeling when I make this again with regular or mild cheddar things will be much creamier!

Just finished eating this mac and cheese. I followed the recipe exactly. I'm sorry, but although it tastes very good, the recipe curdled. I used sargento cheddar (a variety of cheddars). I'm going to stick to making a bechamel sauce in the future. I'm glad it tastes good though! Maybe it was the combo of the cheddar and the temperature of the slow cooker. Cooked on low though.

If you're used to a bechamel sauce then you probably wouldn't like this. Southern-style does finish with sort of a curdle (you can see it in the photo). It isn't a smooth and creamy sauce, but more of a broken custard. I'm sorry you didn't like it :(

Yes, it's supposed to curdle...I thought the pictures and description of it setting like a quiche made that pretty clear. The curdle's the best part! I was looking for a good southern-style mac & cheese to try this Christmas and I think I'll go with this one.

This looks so good! I have tried macaroni and cheese a thousand different ways, but my texture is almost always bit off - like it was ever so slightly gritty. The taste is always great, but the texture issue is driving me nuts. I read somewhere that if I cooled the white sauce prior to adding the cheese it would not be gritty. Have you ever had a problem with that, and if so, how did you fix it?

I can't say I've ever had one turn out gritty... hmmmm. I'll have to think about that. You can't cook the sauce of a Southern style (milk and eggs) macaroni and cheese because it will thicken too much to be stirred into the pasta. Are you cooking Southern style or a bechamel based?

We made this as a side dish for a huge Christmas party this past weekend (90+ people). I tripled the recipe and it was gone in under 10 minutes. Did not change a thing (well...maybe added a little more cheese than it called for). WONDERFUL! I have sent several people to your site for the recipe! Thanks, this will be in heavy rotation at our house and future parties!

I have a crock pot mac and cheese recipe from Southern Living that I have used and used. It is so easy and sooo good. It uses sharp cheddar and Italian three-cheese blend, which makes it really creamy. My recipe does not have butter, and I'm a huge butter fan, so I may try adding that in, as well as the sour cream. Your recipe sounds divine.

Mandy, this recipe is FABULOUS!!!! I have used it twice now and it's been a big hit both times!!! I love that it's so simple, easy, and delicious. I followed the recipe exactly the first time and the second I used sharp cheddar with a touch of Parmesan....superb!

This was delicious...however...with MY experience, twice....the melted butter was too much. Drain the mac (and be sure to use HEAPING 2 cups, or 3 cups), pour into the greased crock pot and pour enough melted butter over noodles to cover....half a stick is way too much and ends up setting on top when you take the lid off. 2 tbsp is enough.

Ever since I found this recipe I've been fantasizing about it. I made it today in the oven following your guidelines and it worked a treat. I used three types of cheese (8oz colby, 4oz 36month aged cheddar, 4oz good parmesan) and the combo was amazing. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the curdley texture, but I was aware of that prior to making it - on the plus side it meant I didn't gorge on mac and cheese :) Love your blog, the captions on the kids drawings had me giggling!

I'll start off saying that I'm a born and bred southern lady who married a born and bred Yankee from western New York (country, not city). Needless to say, he doesn't always get why we southerners make certain dishes the way we do. (He's still reeling over the last time he tried boiled peanuts.) But not too long ago, I was having company over and tried (for the first time) your green beans and potatoes recipe alongside this macaroni and cheese recipe as sides for the traditional country fried chicken. All I can say is that my (very picky) Yankee husband went back for seconds on both. And thirds for THIS macaroni and cheese dish! Congratulations - you have done the impossible!

I make the recipe my Mom made for years...I am not sure it will work in the crockpot......she also added (next to the top layer) a can or drained stewed tomatoes & she sprinkled cinnamon on the top...it makes an awesome "crust" and the cinnamon flavor cooks out & you do not taste it at all! I will try & post how it is :)

I'm from Savannah, GA and was totally opposed to crock pot mac and cheese. Until, my husband had a church dinner party function, and was required to bring the mac and cheese. I broke down and found your post on Pinterest. Well, I am now a convert. This dish was a huge hit! Several people required me to forward the recipe. I followed the recipe almost exactly, aside from excluding the white pepper. I also used a blended cheese of colby and monteray jack cheeses. I also let my noodle sit until they were well cooled off. Amazing!

I made this last night, and was really looking forward to it, but was disappointed! The flavor was good, but my noodles came out totally mush. I only parboiled them 2 min, not 5, and baked for 3 hrs on low. Not sure what the issue was. My husband suggested next time not to precook noodles and bake at less time. Any suggestions?

Well... I don't know? I've never encountered mushy noodles with this before. And with you cooking them only 2 minutes, there REALLY shouldn't have been a problem. You were using standard macaroni noodles, correct? Not the little ones from a Kraft Mac & Cheese box or anything like that? The only think I could think is if the noodles were old. I bought some egg noodles at a 5/dime type discount store that cooked to mush half way through cooking them. And once I had a pot of chicken and rice turn to a mushy, gloppy mess when I'd used some super cheap, store brand rice.

THE best mac n cheese. EVER! The only small change I made was that I bought a package of Kraft Sharp Cheddar with a Hint of Cream Cheese and mixed 3/4 c. of that into the milk mixture and stirred into the macaroni. Then I just sprinkled (or hammered) the top with mild shredded cheddar. ;DIt was SO creamy and delicious! Thank you for the recipes. You're an awesome cook.... you've made me look real good at my house.

It looks like this recipe has been going strong for at least 4 years so I'm convinced. I'm trying it for our Thanksgiving this year. We are having rack of lamb. I think this will be a wonderful addition!!

Sister girl, I made your mac and cheese recipe last night and it is so good. I took half to work and shared it, they loved it. Thanks for sharing this dish that reminds me of church dinners. God bless you

Hi there! While I'm not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven't been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments. And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y'all! - Mandy